John Crisp’s sermon on “Writing the middle chapters” centered on Nicodemus and his experience with Jesus. John started with Nicodemus coming to see Jesus privately and ended with Nicodemus assisting Joseph of Arimathea with embalming the Lord’s body. John explored three scenarios about what happened in between these two events: the middle chapters. As the sermon developed, John challenged the listeners to be born again, comparing the middle chapters of Nicodemus to our own lives. Some notable quotes were “The heart of the entire Bible message is found in John 3” and “do the middle chapters (in your life) include Jesus?”
John used the following scriptures: John 3:3-18, John, 19:39-39, Mark 14:55, John 7:50-52, Mark 14:61-62.
Listen to audio of the sermon here -> 3-8-2014 sermon
John Crisp is an Elder at the Conroe Church of God 7th Day and lives in Conroe, TX and preached by invitation as he does on a regular basis.
John,
As usual, I enjoyed your sermon. I had never really pondered the middle part of our lives “Writing the Middle Chapters” before. That really concerns what we do and how we spend our middle years. It is a fact that we don’t appreciate life like we should during those years. It is only when we reach the older years that we realize that we may have not spent those middle years as close to God as we might have. We have a great God who gives us another chance many times because we have squandered the middle years. Thanks for reminding us of that. We really do appreciate you and June, and your faithfulness. May God’s blessings rest on both of you!
Gladys
I agree with Gladys,
The scripture says that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child Proverbs 22:15. It must take a while to unbind because neglecting eternal matters in favor of temporal ones is folly and we seem to do that until we get older.
Jeff
John,
I was really challenged by your sermon. It is with sober judgement that we evaluate where we are with the Lord. Are we complacent? Why? Lord, create in me the kind of sold-out faith that causes me to seek you with all my heart as a fully committed disciple. What do I do with Jesus? Thank you for helping me evaluate that!
Jennifer
Gladys, Jeff, Jennifer,
Thank you for the encouragement and sharing of your insights. A Christian’s life is certainly a spiritual journey. May our lives always be a strong reflection of the true light, Jesus.
John